Description
Physical description
A brass headdress badge for the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, a fused (flaming) grenade with the Arms of Dublin (three castles) embossed on the ball of the grenade. A pair of lugs on the reverse.
History note
Badge of pattern introduced in 1881, possibly discontinued after 1898..
Both predecessor Regiments were originally Honourable East India Company-raised units. The senior began life in 1641 as a number of independent companies for the Madras Army. In 1746 the companies were amalgamated to form the HEIC European Regiment. They served as Marines in 1810 and in 1830 were re-designated as the Madras (European) Regiment.
The other predecessor had a similar history, being based on four independent companies of Europeans, raised by HEIC in 1662 to garrison Bombay. This predecessor might claim to be the senior, at least insofar as that the companies were amalgamated into the Bombay Regiment nearly 80 years before the Madras unit, becoming the Bombay (European) Regiment in 1688.
In 1839 both Regiments were split into two, the Madras unit becoming 1sts and 2nd Madras (European) Regiment and the Bombay unit the 1st and second Bombay (European) Regiment. 1st Madras and 1st Bombay were re-designated Fusiliers in 1843 and 1844 respectively. In 1859 both passed into British control as 1st Madras and 1st Bombay Fusiliers. In 1861 both Regiments were co-opted into the British Army as, respectively, 102nd (Royal Madras Fusiliers) and 103rd (Royal Bombay Fusiliers) Regiments of Foot. By 1874 at the latest both Regiments were wearing a badge of the fused (flaming) grenade common to all fusilier regiments.
In the Cardwell/Childers reforms of 1881 the two Regiments amalgamated and became an Irish Regiment, designated the Royal Dublin Fusiliers.
By 1898 the badge most closely associated with the Regiment had been adopted. On the ball of the Fusilier grenade was a "Royal" Bengal tiger above an elephant, both on ground and both looking left. The Tiger derives from the 102nd, the symbol being awarded for wear on the Regiment's colours in 1791 to mark its service in India, including Plassey and Buxar. The elephant derived similarly from the 103rd, including honours for Carnatic and Mysore.
In 1922 the Regiment was disbanded on the creation of the Irish Free State.